ARBITRATION COURT.

Evening Star, Issue 12928, 26 September 1906, Page 3

ARBITRATION COURT.

YESTERDAY'S PROCEEDINGS. THE TRAMWAYS DISPUTE. The following concludes our report of yesterday's doings at the Arbitration Court : Thomas M'Carthy, switchboard atAendent, was the first witness called after lunch. He said he had been in the service two years and eight months. His wages were 6s 6d a day. He described his duties. James Douglas, car nainter, in the service since May, 1896, said he was sometunes called upon to act as spare conductor when traffic was heavy. Got ordinary rates for that, and had no holidays. Worked seven hours on Sunday. His wages were £5 3s Id ncr fortnight, of 110 hoars. The Sunday shift began at 6 a.m., and there was no extra pay attached to it. Agreed with the union's proposals. To Mr Scott: His wages wero lljd an hoar all the year round. Would like to pet more. Had no broken time to contend with. Mr Hood said that that was all the evidence that it was proposed to call in recard to the City trams. The union asked for practically the same conditions on the hill trams. They realised that it was not possible to have continuous eighthoar shifts on the Crtv trams, and tho same might apply on the hills. It was generally recognised that a gripman's work on a cable tram was the hardest of tramway work. The conductors had to conduct two cars on the cable lines—one up and one down. That was a consideration that might be taken into account. These men were also called upon lo carry,coal and clean cars, so that the hill conductors had duties beyond those of attending to traffic. The men that had to look after ths cables, etc.. had to do essentially skilled work, and might fairly be classed as skilled _ workers. In fact, nearly all the cable line work was of a kind that required special skill. The last award did not appreciably improve the conditions of the cable car men. At Roslyn the men actually lost 10s a fortnight by that award. The conditions now asked would only about bring the Roslyn men back to the former conditions, and put the other hill men on th; same footing. It was a source of complaint by the men that they were liable to hs called away from their ordinary work to attend to the rope. That was dirty work, and left them very little time to get meals. The men did not know how the lines were paying, and could only say what they thought the work was worth. Mr Scott, said that the granting of the union demands would mean a difference of £BOO to two of the companies affected. ilr , Hood said he hoped that if it was to have any weight the Court would satisfy themselves as to the earning powers of the companies. The union anticipated that it would be said that the companies were not paying, and could not afford to grant what the workers desired, therefore he hoped that the Court would verify these statements. George Robert Miller, gripman on the Dunedin and Kaikorai line, with four ye \rs of service, 6aid he thought the union's demands were satisfactory, though ho thought time and a-half for Sunday work would be reasonable. He was off every other Sunday, except when there was any rope work to do. Had always had reasonable tune in which to prepare for the rope. He took time. Overtime was paid for at the rate of time and a-quarter. A gripman on ti» Kaikorai line required to be more attentive than on the Roslyn line. Witness was paid £5 4s for a fortnight of 104 horns. His wages when he was on the Roslyn line were 7s 6d for eight hours and 10s for a Sunday shift. The present holiday arrangement was satisfactory. Gripman's work was certainly trying. . To Mr Sootfe: The conditions of work had altered since the making of the 1902 award. They ra rnaore trips in a day, and that made the work harder. Thought the present demands were a fair thing in the altered circumstances. Robert iPorsyth, conductor for three and a-hatt years on the Kaikorai line, said he thought that training and experience were necessary to the proper discharge of a conductor's duties. An average day's takings on the cars was from £4 to £6, and tho conductor was responsible for this until ho handed it in at the office. He had himself had two days' takings 'to hand in amounting to probaWy nearly £l4. Thought a tram conductor was entitled, to more than an ordinary laborer's wage. To Mr Scott • A condaetor kept the Saturday's takings over tafl the Monday. It was at holiday tame when he had as ranch-as £l4 in his hag to hand in to the office for two <W takings. Herbert Walter Thompson, gripman. KaiJiorai Ime, stated thst he approved of the union proposals. They were engaged in ropework nearly every Sunday. For five years he was on the Momington line, doing for the most part, track work. On the Stuart street Imo tJhe grades were steeper and, in his opinion, more dangerous. He aad known people to walk straight into the S 1 o ne 0 00330 * he saved a. ctnJtfs We. Some children were in their mftoete charge about a car length ahead of ha car. He Bounded his gong and brought the car to a standstill about three inches away from one of the children. He did not complain about the shifts. They CrL nD 3 ,. pay for ™**mg on public hoh(W bat he TO satisfied with the present nooday arnmgemerfts. Patrick William Pope, conductor, Kaikorai Ime, said he would sooner work two hours on t* .car than one on the rope It was not so easy as it might seem to be a food conductor. One needed to be respectaWy dressed cm!, obliging, intelligent, and of jrnmrpeachabk sobriety and steadiness. the union proposals very fair. Alfred Thomas Ayres, rope-and-fine man, Kaikorai toe, said he was responsible for the rr#nin£-gear. It was dangerous work requiring fecial skill. His wages were & 6d per eight-hour day. He had to inspect the nmnmg-gear and do a certain amount Then the Court adjourned for the day.